


X-Men: Legion

by GodlessDisciple



Category: X-Men (Alternate Timeline Movies), X-Men (Movieverse), X-Men - All Media Types, X-Men Apocalypse - Fandom, x-men days of future past
Genre: M/M, Mental Health Issues, Mental Instability, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-08
Updated: 2017-10-31
Packaged: 2018-07-13 20:30:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 13,024
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7135976
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GodlessDisciple/pseuds/GodlessDisciple
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>**Chapter 10!!!**</p><p>Introducing David Haller (Legion) into the X-Men Movieverse.</p><p>Peter is bored at the institute after heroically saving the day from Apocalypse, and so distracts himself by spying on a mutant Professor Xavier has been having private sessions with.</p><p>This fic will be a slow build-up of friendship to romance and will also be dealing with the relationships between fathers and sons.<br/>Action and adventure coming in later chapters.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Curiosity

The year is 1983, and Peter Maximoff, 24 years old, music connesour, fastest man alive and impeccable dresser (if he does say so himself), is bored. After the crazy world-saving fight with that grey dude he was stuck in crutches for three weeks, which is pretty good considering Hank said the damage is his knee would take 6 to 8 weeks on someone without his accelerated healing (would've been two weeks but he tried to run too early) but he thought he was going to die of boredom then.

  
But now he's been her for two months now and in that time he has explored the entire mansion, met every student, spent time in every lesson (he's picked a few subjects to study, the Professor seems insistent that he has "more potential than he thinks" or whatever) and has moved pretty much all of his stuff from his mom's house (even the arcade machine he stole from a diner). Honestly, he was expecting some more excitement. The training sessions in the Danger Room are pretty cool even if no one can beat him at his maximum speed (unless Jean lifts him with her TK) and he hangs out a lot with the team but the schedule and the monotony is just so ridiculously dull.

  
So for the past 2 and a half weeks now Peter has stopped trying to fight the wave of boredom forcing him to slow down and is flowing with the current. Peter has been studying everyone around him and learning their routines. He knows everyone's class schedule, particular days people go to the mall, he knows everyone's habits, hobbies, who's dating who, who's broken up with who, the list goes on. One particular thing he's learned is the Professor's appointment schedule and for the past two weeks (possibly longer, he wasn't paying attention before) the Professor has had an appointment with a guy who looks about Peter's age in his office for 2 hours every Thursday afternoon.

  
Of course the Professor has lots of appointments with lots of different students, and even some people, like this guy, who come to the mansion just for the appointment, but he has never seen anyone with hair (almost) as cool as peter's own. Pitch black hair all styled straight up like a 7 inch column of darkness. Peter had seen Erik and Charles make eyes at each other so many time before and the sexual tension between them could be cut with a knife so Peter knew it was his duty as a good son (even if Erik didn't know about him yet) to check this guy out and ensure that Charlie wasn't fooling around with someone far too young for him. It definitely wasn't because of the way the guy wore a sleeveless leather jacket that showed off slim but toned arms or had worn a t-shirt of a band that Peter hadn't heard of but was desperate to ask about.  
Today was the day to enact his perfectly crafted plan to find out what they were doing in the office under the guise of speaking to the Professor about a section of the grounds he would suggest they build into an outdoor obstacle course. So he knocked and quickly entered the office.  
"Hey Professor I've found a massive chuck of- Oh."

  
He stopped when he registered what he was seeing. The dark haired guy was levitating crossed legged and barefoot opposite Charles with his back to the door. And he was shirtless. He turned to look at Peter who had frozen to the spot. They made eye contact and Peter blinked. He felt like he was being intently studied even though the guy kept a neutral face. Having been interested in his clothes and hair, Peter hadn't really noticed his face before. He was good looking with dark eyes and high cheekbones but bags under his eyes made him look tired and he looked too slim. Peter took a fast glance over his back and the part of his torso he could see which confirmed this (even if Peter did think, for less than a millisecond, that that was a body he might want to see more of). He eyes were back up faster than anyone could spot (he mastered this skill very quickly with the emergence of both teenage hormones and his powers) but he saw the man's face change to give him a curious look.

  
"Peter if you don't mind, I'm in a session. We can talk later." The Professors words snapped him trance and almost made him jump.  
"Yeah. Cool. Sure thing Professor." The guy was still watching him carefully. "Um, bye."  
Peter zips out of the mansion out into the wooded grove and let's out a breath he didn't realise he'd been holding. His brain then catches up to him.  
"What the hell was that?"

  
After a short run around the grounds to burn off some energy, Peter positions himself in a tree where he can see the front entrance but still be hidden. If he didn't have such a short attention span he thinks he would make an awesome spy. There's already a taxi waiting for the man when he exists the building followed by the Professor. He has a his jacket back on, covering his bare chest and pair of plimsoles on his feet. Peter can see Charles talking to the guy who is walking straight to the taxi. He sees Charles place a hand on the guys arm to stop him, his face changing to slightly worried and a little annoyed. Peter recognises this look as one Charles has often given to Erik and adds that the his list of suspicions. The guy replies something that seems to be dismissive as he shrugs off Charles's arm and gets into the awaiting car.

  
As it pulls away down the drive, the guy looks out the window and meets Peter's eyes in his hiding place. Peter hadn't been expecting that but isn't surprised to see the same analysing look until the car leaves the grounds and is out of view. Peter isn't a cat but his curiosity has always been a danger to him (from testing his speed at dangerous levels, to pushing people's buttons to test their patience) and this definitely requires further investigation. His super fast brain starts working for a plan for next week.


	2. A helpful warning.

At the weekend, Peter found Erik in the kitchen. Over the past couple of months they had started spending some time together, talking one-on-one. Peter is sure that from Erik's perspective it had started as him being accosted by the hyperactive speedster who would ask him dozens of questions and follow him round until he got bored of the cold shoulder. But after the first few meetings (where Peter had been on crutches and Erik could easily escape from him just by going up stairs or walking at a faster pace), Peter had stopped focusing on trying to get information out of the illusive man and instead started talking about himself and filling Erik in on the music and popular culture that he had missed during his incarceration and then his years spent hiding out under a false name. He had learnt quickly that Erik did not want to talk about his life or family before Apocalypse (much to the disappointment to Peter, who wanted to ask about the grandparents and sister he would never get to meet). Since they had started avoiding the negative topics that would bring anger and sadness to Erik's eyes, he had started to show a quiet interest in Peter's nonstop chatter. He would sit patiently while Peter talked, only interrupting to ask a question or tell him if he started speaking to fast for Erik to understand. Only his sister, Wanda, could ever understand him when he got too fast.

  
Unfortunately, Peter hadn't quite got round to mentioning the whole thing about Erik being his father (maybe if there had been a perfect moment, he had missed it when he was next to that magnetic bubble and chickened out) but he wasn't so oblivious to the way Erik studied the angles of his face whenever Peter talked about his Mom. It was nice though, spending time with Erik. He wasn't this "Big Bad Mutant Terrorist" people had spent so much time talking about on the news (the general feelings since Apocalypse were still very mixed, for both humans and mutants) he was really quite chill, when he wasn't in 'Magneto Mode'. But still, Peter thought it was a quite an achievement to be able to make the great 'Master of Magnetism' choke on his coffee just by saying something unexpected at just the right time.

  
He succeeded this by saying "I don't want to worry you man, but your 'dear friend' Charles is having shirtless meetings with other guys in his office." He put the quotation marks in with his fingers, which he usually did, much to the annoyance of Erik (who after repeatedly denying anything going on between him and Charles, had eventually given up and now just rolls his eyes).

  
Through the coughing, Erik managed to choke out "what?" Which Peter swiftly responded to.  
"Yeah every week this guy comes over and is in the Professors office for two hours, so I went to check it out last Thursday and the guy is in the with his shirt on and he's not bad looking. I mean, Idon'tthinkthati'mjustthinkingaboutyouandcharleseventhoughiknowyoutwoaregreattogetherimallforfreeloveorwhatever" oh god, he's rambling again and panicking slightly. He can tell he's speaking too fast. Erik has regained control of his breathing but looks slightly dizzy from all the words coming to him too fast to hear, until something clicks.

"Wait, did you say Thursday?"  
"Yeah"  
"Does he have hair like this?" Erik gestures high above his head. When Peter confirms with a nod, he smiles knowingly. "Thank you for your concern Peter, but that man is just another young mutant in need of our help. And as I have repeatedly told you, Charles and I are not dating." He emphasised the last past with exasperation and left the room, taking his coffee with him.

  
Peter could've followed him of course, but it was pointless when Erik was the master of a dramatic exit and, having previously chased him before, the exits would usually just get more dramatic with him floating off into the sky (or occasionally ripping a chunk out of the wall, like he had done when Peter cornered him in the Danger Room and asked Erik about his parents). One thing was for sure, Peter was left with more curiosity than before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wanda exists! :D  
> For the moment she's only going to be mentioned occasionally but she may appear in some much later chapters.
> 
> I haven't decided whether or not Cherik is happening in the background but I fully believe neither of them would talk to Peter about it :p
> 
> This chapter is a bit short but I Charles and the mystery man will be reappearing in the next chapter :)


	3. A slight scolding

Not long after Erik left him, (but what seemed like hours to the speedster) Peter received a psychic summons from Charles to see him in his office. He zipped over and let himself in and immediately busied himself looking at the many books lining the walls of the office. He hadn't seen the Professor since walking in on him with the man (not that he'd been avoiding him, he told himself, Peter was just a busy guy) and so started talking with the plans he had used as an excuse to catch them.

"Hey so there's a clearing in the woods that we could convert into an outside training course. Build a few walls and traps; add some obstacles and we could really have something cool-"  
"Take a seat please Peter." He grabbed a book from the wall behind the Professor and did as he said (choosing to flick through the book at super speed rather than meeting Charles's eyes). The Professor wheeled over to him and lay a hand on the book, closing it and forcing Peter's full attention into him.  
"Peter, I'd like to talk about last Thursday." He said. Peter met his eye contact before nervousness took over and he zipped to another area of the room, disguising the movement as swapping the book for a different one.

"Hey don't worry Professor, if you wanna have shirtless 'sessions' with guys then that's cool. I know how to be discreet." Charles gave a disbelieving look before composing himself and continuing.  
"No Peter, that's not what this is about." He said Peter's name a lot, that had been something Peter's mom had told him to do if he needed to hold his focus. "You can't just interrupt a session like that. Some of the mutants I'm meeting can't fully control their powers and having you a appear like that can be...." He paused as he thought of the right word "...unexpected." The intense eye contact he was giving Peter clearly said 'this is important'. Peter broke it and zipped to another area of the room.

"okay, yeah. I'll knock and wait next time." Peter agreed with a roll of his eyes (he always had to slow down for these snails) and swiftly continued "But I'm just worried about you and Erik, man. I mean, I'm not the one cheating on the Great and Powerful Magneto" Charles pulled an expression of exhaustion (one that would match Erik's at this topic of discussion).  
"As I have tirelessly reminded you, there is nothing going on between Erik and I. I understand your concern for your father but we're just friends." Peter was unconvinced.  
"Yeah, suuure." He dragged the word out and changed topics as he switched to another book, burying his eyes in it to seem casual. "So who is this guy? The hair is cool but isn't he a little young for you? And what's his power? Is it something to do with his hair? Yeah it's gotta be the hair, right?" 

The Professors face had returned to slightly stern again and sighed before reclaiming Peter's eye contact with a hand on his arm. "Peter I need you to give him some space. He's struggling with his abilities and is not ready to meet other students yet."  
Peter was about to move again but Charles's grip tightened a little on his arm. "Do you understand Peter?"  
"Yeah whatever" he replied, disgruntled.  
"And no more spying." Peter let out an annoyed sigh and rolled his eyes.  
"Fine." 

The hand left his arm and the Professor smiled at him, "Thankyou Peter. Now, would you like to take that book with you?" Peter thought for a second before swapping it for a different one and then picking up two more. "Nah, these ones thanks." He replied before zipping out with his new distractions for the day. Peter had been steadily working his way through Charles's library since he and Erik had decided together that it would be better for Peter to read than to "rot his brain away on that silly video game". But the thick books that he would likely finish with an hour each, were not going to be enough to stop him from adding the pieces to this puzzle. 

It hadn't been so puzzling before; this guy originally just seemed like another guest coming to the mansion for help with his powers from the Professor. But none of the others came and left that quickly. Most of them, at some point or another, would mingle for lunch or tour the grounds; a few local younger mutants visiting after they had finished their day at a different school to join in with teams games at the mansion or to practice with their powers secretly, away from the prying eyes of normal people who were now discovering the population of mutants to be lot larger and possibly more dangerous than they had originally believed. 

But this guy arrived at 1pm every Thursday and then remained in the Professors office with him until 3pm when he would leave again like clockwork. Erik clearly knew what his deal was, but it was Charles's own reaction that made Peter suspicious. Usually he encouraged Peter to socialise and befriend any new students that may be nervous or uncomfortable in the new environment. Peter's consistent chatter would usually include tales of when he first got his powers and couldn't help running into walls and furniture or how he wore through all shoes (he still does this but less now) which made the students laugh and feel a bit better about there own mistake, like the brother and sister from Kentucky (one of which was flying through walls, the latter ripping her skin off to reveal a different substance like wood or stone but which also destroyed her clothes in the process). 

So the Professor telling him to stay away from this new mutant was quite unexpected. Unfortunately for Charles, Peter's Mom hadn't mentioned to him that telling Peter not to do something was pretty much guaranteed to would happen, but in a much sneaker way. There was clearly a lot more to the guy that met the eye, even if Peter did think what he'd already seen was nice to look. He quickly shook his head, switching his mind back to admiration for the guy's hair and clothes. It was a good thing he had a few more days to plan for more subtle investigation tactics.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like to think young Quicksilver has a lot of nervous, excitable energy. I imagine he would use his super speed to get out of doing or talking about anything he didn't want to :p
> 
> In case anyone's confused but Charles knows about Erik being Peter's father (Peter is chatty to his head as well as in person) but he thinks it's best if Peter tells Erik himself when he's ready.
> 
> Sorry no more David yet but this chapter turned out a bit longer than expected. David will say his first words to Peter in the next chapter :)
> 
> Did you spot the cameos? The brother and sister from Kentucky are Sam (Cannonball) & Paige Guthrie (Husk). Honestly there will probably be a lot of cameos coming in the story but most of them will just be there to flesh out the school a bit.  
> I have got a few other characters I am planning on introducing into the plot but we're now three chapters in and Peter and David haven't met yet so don't hold you breath for it being any time soon :p


	4. First words

It was Thursday again and Peter's plan was tricky than usual. He'd spent the last few days in preparation, keeping himself busy and letting his mind move at its faster, erratic pace in an attempt to block out any telepaths who may be psychically eavesdropping. That was the hard bit. It was much easier, on Thursday when he spent most of his afternoon running circles around the building and randomly up the walls to sneakily peer in the window, under the pretence that he was practicing changing direction, should anyone ask. 

The first hour of the session was dull, with the guy floating in front of Charles as his had before, conversing quietly together. During the second hour however, they started arguing, gradually getting louder until Peter could almost hear them through the windows. When he saw the guy grab his jacket and storm out the room before the end of their usual session time, Peter saw an opportunity for further investigation that he couldn't miss. Zipping over to the front entrance he positioned himself with a book so as to look casual. This was another part of the master plan; finding an opportunity to introduce himself to the guy, without seeming like he'd been spying on him for the past 4 weeks. 

But as the dark haired man exited the building, slamming the heavy doors behind him, Peter's mind froze and he said the only the that still made it through the sudden blank.  
"You forgot you shoes." The reply came immediately as an angry shout. "Fuck the shoes!" He didn't even look at Peter as he said it, still clearly preoccupied by his rage at the Professor who had since made it to the entrance to follow him out.  
"David, wait. Please." He called after the man who didn't even slow down as ignored both of them and left the property through the gates. Peter was too busy scolding himself for being an idiot to notice the Professor rolling towards him. When he did, he knew he was in trouble.  
"Uh oh."  
"Peter I asked you not to do this!"  
Peter tries very hard not to think about his run over and around the mansion.  
"You cannot spy on people Peter!" Peter doesn't really have any excuse he can use right now, but he scrapes the bottom of the barrel anyway.  
"He wasn't wearing shoes. I was just gonna ask if he wanted me to-"  
"That's enough." Peter thought he must be giving Charles a migraine judging by the way two of his fingers went to his temple. "You're done with finding out about David. He's just another student and you're not that interested anymore."  
Peter thought he might also be getting a migraine from the way his head buzzed, but it only lasted a second so maybe not. It did make sense though, what the Professor said, it had been 4 weeks since he started prying and he hadn't found out anything to peak his interest.  
"I was getting bored anyway" Peter agreed with a shrug.

 

Friday brought back the boredom that came with the routine of the mansion. But Peter was off his game. He was distracted in a Danger Room session and Raven used her 'drill sergeant' voice when Peter was pinned by the team. She did give him a concerned frown but it still wasn't good enough for her, even though it had taken a optic blast from Scott (which he ducked); a large chunk of debris telekinetically thrown at him by Jean (which he jumped); and the sudden appearance of Kurt (who he swerved past); before Mystique had managed to grab his arm and twist it behind his back. He was also too distracted in one of his lessons to notice he was tapping his pen too fast until it snapped in his hand, leaving him with ink stains on his fingers and reminding him of one of the many reasons he dropped out of high school. He just felt like he was forgetting something.

He changed up the scenery at the weekend by going back home to see his Mom and little sister. It was a short run, for him, only taking about 20 minutes. He could do it in 10 at his maximum speed but that would tired him out quickly and he didn't want to risk getting lost in his thoughts and crashing. When he got in his Mom and sister each got a hug before his head was in the fridge. It was always full now he wasn't living there, and he would rarely miss an opportunity to refuel. Peter filled his Mom in about all the current news from the institute and told her about how his lessons were going when she asked. She had been so happy when he'd told her that he was studying to get his diploma and now eagerly awaited to hear about the specific lesson plan Charles had designed for him. Hank was also always trying to get him into to lab to test how much he could knowledge he could retain at different speeds. Peter knew it was a nice change for her to hear about him spending his time working through the book in Charles's extensive library rather than evading police and committing minor felonies as he had done when he had tried out public school(s) in his teens. Peter had gained much better control of his speed and attention span (and thrill-seeking) which age but even he could admit he must've been hard work.  
Peter didn't tell his Mom about David, the mystery man he had been spying on for the past four weeks, even though the last time he'd stuck to something this long, it had been before puberty sped him up. When she did eventually ask (having heard him previously mention 'this guy with a band t-shirt and ridiculously cool hair') Peter just told her he'd lost interest. But he couldn't shake the feeling that he was lying to her which was weird because he was sure he was bored of that investigation. 

Over the rest of the weekend, he distracted himself from his thoughts by taking his little sister, Anna, to the zoo and helping his Mom decorate the house (she always had something for him to do when he came back to visit, superspeed always made any task so much easier to finish) but he kept finding his thoughts on his other sister, Wanda.  
When they were younger, their Mom had given Peter a little pocket watch. It had been her father's and was one of the only things she'd managed to bring with her when she had moved to America after the war. Wanda had been jealous, and the pocket watch had been the cause of many arguments between the two of them. Peter knew, of course, that he didn't take the best care of it but it was his and he stubbornly wouldn't share. Then one day after an argument in their teens, it was hers. It had always been hers. He could remember the day that their Mom had given it to Wanda and so many arguments they had had, because he had wanted it.

But he also remembered that nagging feeling, like something was missing from his memory, that he had been feeling now since Thursday. It had worried him, before, so much so that he eventually went to ask Wanda about it. She secretly confessed to him that she had wanted that pocket watch so much that somehow the world changed around them. Previously she had been able to make objects move and could make luck work in her favour but this had shown them there was more to Wanda's gift than they could understand. He had eventually decided that she should keep the watch. It would still be his, but the scratches on it had proved already that it needed a better caretaker. When he told her this, She had hugged him and cried into his chest for so long, that he had had eventually stopped struggling and accepted the warm hug even though his t-shirt ended up damp.

Peter shook off the memory and tried to focus his thoughts. In his eternal hyperactivity, Peter could be known to forget things quickly, sometimes even as soon as he was told, but remembering he had forgotten something was a very different feeling. This was something that stuck with him. He thought about that pocket watch and the man the Professor had been seeing in his office, David. The first week he had noticed him, it had been the hair that caught his eye. The second week Peter had noticed the black t-shirt with what looked like a man smashing a guitar on it (which Peter had thought was awesome). The third week there had been the shirtless levitation, and the investigation that went along with it. But even with Charles and Erik's dismissals, Peter couldn't work out why he'd kept it up that long, even the levitation was kind of dull when you lived in an school for mutants. Maybe he hadn't even known why he felt drawn to the guy in the first place.

"Shouldn't you be getting back to back?" His mom's words broke him out of his thoughts. Peter hadn't realised it had gotten so late in the evening (he had barely realised it was Sunday). After saying goodbye to his Mom, he started the run back to school. Running always helped him organise his thoughts better. He thought about the pocket watch again. That had been very frustrating. He must've been stuck in it for months before he'd given up and gone to Wanda (the smart one) for help. But Wanda wasn't here and Wanda had been the only other one who could've known what he didn't. Peter thought maybe he could talk to Erik but if it wasn't that interesting to Peter then it wouldn't be to him.  
Why had he spent so much time on this guy? Peter nearly ran into a car, as he mentally kicked himself. A quick dodge later and he tried to focus again. Who else could he ask? The sudden realisation hit him harder than any car could, as he saw the mansion coming into view. He couldn't ask Wanda because she hadn't changed his mind this time.

This had been Charles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dun dun duuuuuunnnnnnn.  
> So I'm leaving you with a bit of a cliffhanger there for the weekend but the next chapter will be up by Monday.
> 
> I was originally planning Peter's younger sister to be Lorna Dane (Polaris) but instead have changed her to be his mother's other child (with a guy who isn't Erik) because I may at some point want to introduce Lorna in a different way. But that might be in a sequel story if she does appear at all. 
> 
> I live for comments and kudos :)


	5. Chapter 5

Peter went straight to the Professor's private study, foregoing even stopping at the kitchen. He knew Sunday night was date night for Erik and Charles, which meant they would be playing chess and drinking scotch till late (pretty boring in Peter's opinion, except maybe the scotch). As he stopped next to them, time began to catch up with him. He saw Erik tense very slowly, his knuckles whitening on the glass he gripped, as he realised there was someone else present. In the first couple of weeks Peter could run again, he had broken most of Charles's glasses, but had since become (slightly) more accustomed to Peter's sudden appearances. Charles was holding a chest piece as he had been taking his move when Peter arrived.  
Carefully Peter took the small metal horse bust out of Charles hand before a flicker of rage caught him and he threw it hard against the wall. As the two men returned to normal speed (or Peter did), the knight hit the wall with a loud bang and stayed there, embedded in the wall. Their heads both flicked the the location of the sound in shock and the rest of the metal chess pieces begin to hover above the board.   
"What the hell, man?" Peter demands furiously at the Professor and their heads turn to him. Erik opens his mouth to speak but Peter continues before he starts. "You messed with my head!"   
"Peter I'm sorry, I was just trying to-" he starts but Peter is too angry to listen to any excuses or reason.  
"No! You used your powers to try and control me. That is not okay dude." The last point was emphasised by an angry finger pointed close to Charles's face.  
"He's dangerous Peter, I'm trying to protect you. Both of you!" Charles pleads, but Peter rejects this by kicking the table, causing it to break into pieces against the wall. The chess pieces scattered but remained hovering in the air. Erik's face matched Peter's angry expression but he remained silent. But Peter just let out an angry, hysterical laugh. "This place blew up a few months ago and now people can just fuck with each other's heads whenever they feel like it. If he's dangerous then I'm sure he'll fit right it." He replied, scathingly.  
Having said all he has to say, Peter exits the room, leaving Charles looking upset and Erik looking furious. Peter's to annoyed to notice the way Erik's eyebrows are the exact same shape as his, when they are both angry. So Peter goes for a run. He runs until his chest burns and his feet ache. By the time he makes it back to the mansion, he's too tired to focus too much to his anger. He sees Erik fly off, helmet in place, but Peter is on a mission to the kitchen. 

After he had refuelled (and waiting for what he hoped was enough time for Erik to calm down), Peter grabbed a pack of beers from his hidden stash and went to where he knew the Master of Magnetism would be. It wasn't hard for Peter to pick up enough speed to run up the giant satellite dish to sit himself on the platform where Erik was meditating in the air above.  
"Hey, I brought beer." Peter said as he pulled two cans from the plastic rings. He opened his and easily dodged the fizz that sprayed out after the journey.  
"Are you even old enough to drink?" Erik asked as his own can floated up and opened itself before joining his hand.  
"Dude, I'm 24."  
"Mmhmm." Erik murmured as he took a drink. The silence must've only lasted a minute but most of Peter's beer was already gone and so he broke it.

"Your helmet looks dumb." Erik chuckled and removed the helmet, floating down to sit next to him. They sat for a few minutes and drank their beers.  
"I'm sorry if I made you guys have a fight." Peter said, staring down at the curved bowl beneath him.  
"Peter, that wasn't you fault. Charles had no right to do what he did." He looked annoyed again. "But he does have his reasons." He finishes, fairly. Erik seems different now, since they met in the pentagon. He's a lot calmer than Peter had believed, after having watched him move a stadium to the president and announce the existence of mutants with a righteous fury.   
Peter finishes his second beer, opens another one and switches topics, an attempt to avoid focusing his own anger towards the Professor.   
"So why does Charlie want me away from this guy?"   
Erik's face changed as he chose his words carefully. "David has a very powerful gift but he which he has very little control of. Charles is......." Erik paused and looked at Peter for a minute, quietly analysing him, before taking a drink of his beer and turning his eyes towards the mansion in the distance. "Charles cares very deeply for him and worries about his safety and the safety of the students, should he lose control. He is sorry, you know." Erik says looking back at him.  
"Yeah I know, but I'm still pissed."  
"And so you should be." Erik agrees, "But he deserves a second chance, when you're ready."  
"Mmm." Peter replies noncommittally, looking out to the mansion. It's a good view from up here, the masses trees around the property casting everything into shadows while the lights in the mansion's windows make it glow like a lantern. It's quiet up here too, but Peter has always preferred noise.  
"Is he like you and Jean then?" He asks, breaking the silence.  
"In a way, yes." Erik replies. "But we don't fully understand his gift yet, he might be more powerful than we could ever realise." He's thoughtful but there's a worry in his words as well.   
"Soooo, I shouldn't piss him off then?" Peter says, grinning when Erik raises a disbelieving eyebrow. "I would definitely avoid pissing him off." Erik confirms, amused.

The silence lulls over them again as they each open a new can, (Erik on his second, Peter on his fourth) before Erik restarts the conversation.  
"How were you able to overcome Charles's telepathy?" He asks, looking curiously at Peter.   
"I didn't really overcome it. I have a...." A tiny selfish part of him isn't ready to share his father with his sister yet, "friend who did something like this once. I dunno, this just kinda felt the same."  
"Fascinating." Erik ponders as Peter just shrugs. He looks back down at the curvature of the dish beneath him and at the large expanse of clearing in front of it. An idea sparkles in his head. He downs the last of his beer and turns to Erik with a mischievous smile.  
"Hey, how far do you think I could jump if I run down there?"   
"Peter, No-" Erik starts, too slow as Peter hops off the platform.  
"Peter, Yes!" He calls back as he begins his rapid descent.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 6 is coming but slowly. It'll be up by Wednesday :)


	6. London Calling

Peter decided, after letting go of most of his anger, that the Professor deserved the silent treatment for at least a week. It was easy enough to zip out of a room as soon Charles would try and talk to him but he did appreciate the fact that Charles didn't try to reach out to him with telepathy. By the time Thursday came around, Peter was still avoiding him but decided (by himself) not to try and spot David when he arrived for his appointment and left for his appointment. Peter's curiosity was still as strong as ever but Charles still needed to be punished by missing out on Peter's charming company.  
As Peter took a quick run to the kitchen (long before the end of the Thursday session), he expected to see the usual crowd of students litter through the hallways. What he didn't expect was to catch sight of tall, black hair styled straight up, out the corner of his eye. As he slowed his run and switched quickly to moving backwards he saw him, David, The guy he was supposed to give space, being led on a tour by Jean.  
Momentarily distracted from his environment, Peter was brought back to reality by a sudden halt as he crashed into someone at super-speed. It was incredibly fortunate that that person was Sam Guthrie, a young mutant who could create a forcefield as well as flying, and instinctively did this a split second before Peter hit him. Unfortunately the collision caused Sam to fly halfway through a wall. As the dust cloud from the broken bricks settled and Sam attempted to wriggle out of the wall (with only his legs visible from this side of the wall), Peter picked himself off the floor and felt everyone's eyes on him. His eyes locked with David's curious stare from across the room and his mouth went dry.  
"I, umm, tripped?" Peter pathetically explained to the onlookers and quickly pulled Sam out from the gaping hole in the wall before escaping outside into the grounds.

After a quick trip to the kitchen and back, Peter lay on the grass outside, put his headphones over his ears to play something relaxed and stared at the sky the sky. Peter had always loved big open spaces. Even as a child, before he manifested his powers, he always wanted to run and play outside. Wanda used to be able to keep up with him, for a few months even overtaking him when she grew a few inches taller than him and had a larger step. Then, when they were 12, he ran faster and faster until he was in the next town and he had worn through the soles of his shoes. His mother collected him and had then sat him and Wanda down to explain to them they were mutants, then swore them to secrecy before their stepfather got home from work. The secret didn't stay between them for very long as Peter struggled with his speed and with the emergence of Wanda's own unpredictable powers soon thereafter. His stepfather was gone not long after that so he didn't dwell on that anymore. For a long time instead he thought about the mutant his mother had told them about, the one who could control metal.

Peter switched his music to a more upbeat tape from his pocket and looked out at clouds in the sky. They were practically stationary in the drift, and Peter thought to himself that if he had had any other power he would've liked to fly. He liked the idea of being high up above everything looking down. He imagined it wouldn't be that much different to seeing them frozen as he moved out of tempo around them, but it would be a new perspective. Peter's thoughts drifted through his head until he was cast in a tall shadow as the mysterious man stood at his feet. Peter propped himself up on elbows, took his headphones off and told himself to be cool. Luckily the other man spoke first.  
"Hi. I'm David."  
"I'm Peter" he put his hand out to offer a formal introduction but was instead handed a cassette tape. David stated "I have to go" and then promptly turned and walked back towards the front entrance of the grounds. Peter turned over the item to see the picture on it that matched the t-shirt David had been wearing, the second week he had caught his eye. It had the words 'London Calling' on it in pink and green letters and was definitely a band Peter didn't recognise and he idly wondered why David had given it to him.  
"So I'll give it back to you next week then?" Peter called out to the retreating man who turned his head to give Peter a small smile. Peter felt his own face grin in return and swapped his music for the new cassette fore laying back down and shutting his eyes to block out everything but his new recommended listening.  
The tune of the guitars instantly hit him with a hook and drew him into the melodic tunes. Some songs had a sense of gloom in the music, singing of anger, injustice and a struggle for survival that he could definitely could relate to. Others could be satirical but upbeat, with pace that Peter could feel in his feet, moving him want to run and dance. It was made up of drums and guitar, like the music he was usually used but it didn't all sound like rock and roll. He stayed on the floor until he had listened to it all the way through then flipped the cassette back to the start and then went for a light run as he listened to it again.

His headphones remained on for the rest of the week as he danced past the Professor and sung along when Erik tried to talk to him. Not that he didn't want to talk to either of them (he had forgiven the Professor, even if he hadn't told him yet), Peter was just determined to avoid real life for a little while whilst he enjoyed the album. He even high jacked the speakers in the danger room to play it, but that ended up with him getting into an intense disagreement with Jubilee who insisted that Dazzler, an openly mutant disco singer, was much better. Peter informed her she had no taste other than that which was forced upon her by the mainstream pop culture. She responded with a blast of fireworks between them that nearly burnt his eyebrows off (but of course, he was too quick for that). Peter then spent Wednesday night searching through his own tapes for something amazing to give to David the next day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> David and Peter have finally had an introduction!! Only took 6 chapters to get here xD I hope it was worth the wait.
> 
> The album Peter is listening to is 'London Calling' by 'The Clash'. If you haven't heard it before you should definitely go listen to it now. Its number 8 in Rolling Stone's top 500 greatest albums of all time and it's one of my favourites :)  
> This isn't a song fic so you don't have to know the songs at all but I highly recommend it.
> 
> Newest mutant reference: Dazzler (Alison Blaire) A disco singer who has the ability to convert sound into light. She can use this to make light shows when she performs or use it as a lazer or blasts.  
> After the events of Apocalypse, perception of mutants has changed and she has come out and announced herself as a mutant to the world. She will be reference again because I love her <3
> 
> Chapter 7 should be up by Saturday :)


	7. Reconciliation

Peter didn't sleep well on Wednesday night, which is unusual for him because normally he could sleep like he was in a coma (super speed really takes it out of you), so he went to run off some of his excess energy. When he made his way back to the kitchen, for a quick snack, he found Charles waiting for him. 

"Hey Professor." He greeted, his voice slightly muffled from his head being in the refrigerator.  
"Good evening Peter, you're up late." Charles replied, only slightly slipping into the 'teacher voice' he would save for the younger students he was responsible for.  
"Couldn't sleep, went for a run." Peter was now searching through a cupboard until he succeeded in finding a stash of twinkles that had been hidden from him. Pulling out a packet, he sat down at the counter opposite Charles. Having not spoken to him since shouting at him and trashing the study, Peter thought it was time to get the reconciliation over and done with. Whether for it was from Peter body language or the emotions he was sensing, Charles took the hint and left out the small talk.

"Peter, you know I really am sorry. I should never have altered your mind like that."  
"You're right, you shouldn't have done that." Peter was always quick to anger, but time away from the Professor had given him a chance to calm down and allow for some perspective. "But it's cool, man. Don't do it again and I won't wreck your house." He added with a smile. Charles chuckled in return. "Yes the large hole in the wall of my study makes for an excellent reminder."   
Peter was happy, this had been a lot easier than he had expected. Charles, however killed the buzz when he switched to his serious voice again. "I know now it's not my place to interfere, but I must ask you to please take it slow with David."   
"What like dinner and a movie? I can open doors for a him if you want-" This was starting to sound like a good plan to Peter when the Professor cut him off disapprovingly.

"No Peter, that's not what I meant. David's powers are very closely tied to his emotions. If you were to suddenly appear or move him somewhere, his reaction could be unpredictable and possibly quite dangerous." The repetition from both Charles and Erik was starting to feel condescending. 'Stay away from the newbie Peter, he's dangerous', 'Don't be so fast around other mutants, you could get hurt, Peter'. He remembered his mom's similar warning: 'stop showing off before you get arrested' and thought that he would have stayed at home if he just wanted to hear the same thing over and over again.  
"Okay Professor, chill." He said with a shrug as stood and collected the remaining twinkles to take with him. "I get it, I can be slow if I want to." It may not of helped Peter's point to then suddenly vanish with his super speed back to his room, but he got what they were saying and would told himself he would use snail speed this next day.

 

For the ever-impatient Peter, Thursday morning dragged on with such a slow monotonous pace that he didn't even try to control his tapping foot or drumming fingers. He was too bored to hold focus in any conversations and ended up going running until he tired himself out enough to sit down for lunch. After that, he went to the library to try and read instead of watching the clock. That didn't seem to work too well as he was too distracted to focus on anything he was reading.

Peter let out a frustrated noise when he saw it was only 2.30 and ran out of the mansion and into a clearing in the grounds where he knew Erik would be supervising some of the students practicing their flying. This was quite a recent class to be added to the curriculum, every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon, being put in place after it had been discovered that the students who could fly were trying to race each other. But being that they were on all very different skill levels, some of the races had ended with midair collisions between some flyers, or in one particular incident, an English lesson was rudely interrupted when Sam Guthrie hadn't managed to swerve in time to miss the window. 

Peter sat on the grass and watched them above him, returning the wave Sam sent to him. No one minded Peter (they were used to other students coming to observe their practice) but Erik spotted him and after leaving Storm in charge, floated down towards him. Ororo caught his eye and nodded towards Erik with her eyebrows raised. They had since perfected this conversation to just gestures. Ororo's meaning 'are you gonna tell him yet?' and Peter's returned head shake and vague wave of his hand meaning 'not yet, not the right time'.  
"I thought you would be too busy bothering Charles's guests to grace us with you presence" Erik said with a small smile and a raised eyebrow as he landed beside Peter.  
"Oh is it Thursday already?" Peter responded casually, but quickly adding "they don't finish the shirtless levitating till 3 anyway." 

Erik rolled his eyes but smiled anyway. "I thought someone as sneaky as you would've known." He said mysteriously and Peter is instantly hooked with curiosity. "Known what?"   
"They've changed the times of their session so David can stay longer to see more of school. They should be finishes..." He looks and his watch while Peter sits, silently vibrating in anticipation "oh right now."

That's all Peter needs to hear before he sprints, full speed back towards the mansion. He's at the mansion door before he changes his mind, runs back and stops back where he was sitting next to Erik to try to attempt a much more casual exit.  
"Cool, okay, I should probably go then. I mean, he leant me a tape and I said I give it to him." He must've only been gone a second but he knows Erik spotted him move from the glint in his eye and the less subtle grin on his face. He turns away and starts walking before Erik sees his cheeks turn pink. Then he shoves away his embarrassment from his slightly annoying friend/father-who-doesn't-know-it-yet and runs to the mansion anyway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's late. Real life got really busy all of a sudden :p
> 
> Next chapter will be up by next Saturday (hopefully). David will be back next time and should start making a lot more appearances in future chapters.


	8. Tour Guide

Peter arrived at his destination in time to see David and Charles midway through exiting into the corridor. As he waited for time to catch up with him, he watched Charles hand slowly come up to his chest as he registered the shock of another sudden presence. David, however, didn't even flinch, just calming turning to face him. Peter pulled the tape out of his pocket and hold it out to his owner.  
"Here'syourtapebackitwasamazingivebeenlisteningtoitallweekireallylikedjimmyjazzandlondoncallingwhatyoursfavouritesong-"  
"Stop talking." David said with a raise of his hand in a gesture of 'slow down'.  
"Sorry," Peter carefully pauses between each word to bring himself down to a speed where he is audible "sometimes I speak too fast." He looks down at his feet to try to hide his slight embarrassment and hands over the tape.  
"Do you want to give me a tour?"  
"Yes, definitely" Peter smiles brightly and grabs David's sleeve to start leading him. "You have to see the grounds. I'll show you where I want to build an obstacle course-"  
"Slowly, remember Peter." The Professor brings their attention back to him as Peter starts walking backwards pulling the arm he held with him.  
"Okay bye Charles." David shoots with a glare and a hint of a bad attitude as he follows.  
"Don't worry, Professor." Peter says with a shrug (an attempt at casual, even if he can't stop smiling) "I'll be so slow, you'll think I'm a snail." Of course he's already dragged his new companion several metres away already, but David doesn't seem to mind.

David was quite quiet during the tour but Peter had filled any quiet with his rapid talk about the mansion and the grounds. As they went outside and saw student wandering around the tour started to include random facts about the students, peppered in unrelated questions directed David which would be answered with short cautious answers. Gradually Peter learned that David had moved to New York recently from Scotland with his mum (Peter thought his accent was awesome but on some words it sounded like he had lived somewhere else for a while). David was possibly going to start taking some classes at the Xavier institute as he hadn't been able to attend much regular school as he had been 'unwell'. He hadn't elaborated any further and had quickly changed the subject when Peter asked.

As they walked around the lake, they spotted Jean and Scott sitting together under a tree. Jean and David gave other a wave from the distance and Peter insisted on leading David to see the tree Scott had destroyed on his first day at the institute, and then to another tree that had one of the best views of the mansion. Peter raced up to the top of the tree in less than a second and looked back down to see David looking somewhat blankly at the branches.  
"Why don't you fly up?" Peter called down.  
David mumbled something directed towards his feet but Peter was back standing next to him to catch the end of his response.  
"-have a lot of control of my telekinesis." He looked slightly embarrassed so Peter just shrugged it off and lead David up the tree, making sure to move slow enough so he could follow which branches to hold onto and where to put his feet. It took much longer for Peter this way but he didn't mind too much. It used to always be Wanda following him and complaining about his speed so many years before he got his powers ("Pietro, you're going too fast!").

"I thought you said your name was Peter?" David asked as he sat on the high branch next to him.  
"What?" Peter is confused but confirms "I am Peter."  
"So who is Pietro?"  
"I am. Wait how did you..." Something clicks in Peter's brain. "Are you in my head man? Thats not cool. You could at least ask." David shrinks himself away from Peter and ducks from his eye contact.  
"I'm so sorry I just.... I don't... It's really hard to block it all out...... And you kinda......" He tails off and that hits Peter's curiosity. "What?"  
"You sort of..... project your thoughts." Peter frowns and David flinches, quickly trying to explain himself. "Im sorry, I'm not constantly reading your mind I just... Sometimes I overhear stuff. Dads been helping me a lot but-"  
"Your dad?" Peter has only ever heard David mention mother so far.  
"Yeah, Charles obviously has a lot more control than I do-"  
"Wait, who?"  
"Charles."  
"Charles?"  
"Yes."  
"Charles Xavier?"  
"Yes" David is watching him now but Peter's is still trying to put the pieces together.  
Charles... Is your dad?"  
"Yeah, we moved to America so I could be closer to the school."  
"So the professor and your mom... Did the..." Peter makes a gesture with his hands and David raises an eyebrow.  
"Yes, that's generally how babies are made."  
For someone with a super fast mind, Peter is still struggling to process this new information. Charles is David's father. That's so weird, he could never imagine The Professor as being a father. But then again, he wouldn't have thought Erik seemed like fatherly material except for the fact he himself is the man's son. A sudden shock of embarrassment hits Peter as he remembers telling Erik that he suspected Charles of having an affair with David.  
"You thought I was shagging my dad?" David asks with a laugh.  
"Stop doing that. But yeah, you were kinda shirtless all the time in his office." David laughs more and Peter likes how it sounds (even if he's laughing more at him than with him). 

When it was time for David to go home, they climbed down from the tree and walked back to the front of the mansion. Normally Peter hated walking anywhere but kept in time with David's casual pace because so they could keep talking.  
"So why do you go by Peter?"  
"No one could ever pronounce or spell Pietro when I was a kid so I started going by Peter. And it just kinda stuck." He shrugs like its nothing but he likes being Peter. Only Wanda really ever called him Pietro anymore and that was rarely.  
"Who is Wanda? You think about her a lot." Peter looks at David who immediately drops his gaze and mumbles another apology towards his feet.  
"Don't worry, man. That's why your here right?" He brushes off before explaining "Wanda is my sister. We were practically inseparable as kids."  
"Where is she now?"  
"She moved to New York to go to college and stayed there. I visit her sometimes but she's got her own stuff going on now." Peter tries not to think about how much he misses her but he can tell he hasn't buried that down far enough by the sympathetic look David gives him.  
"It's fine." He dismisses with a wave, "she's such a dork anyway, no one would be able to appreciate how cool I am if she was still tagging along all the time." David chuckles and Peter feels something fluttery in his stomach that he can't identify.

Peters is disappointed when they get to the front entrances and the car is already there and waiting for David who also looks at the car unhappily.  
"Thanks for the tour, I.... Umm... I had fun today. Will I see you next week?" He looks slightly afraid of the answer but Peter grins.  
"Definitely. See you next week."  
David departs in the car and waves out the window. Peter can't stop smiling and waves until the car is completely out of sight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait! I had to move house since my last update so everything's been a bit crazy :p  
> I should hopefully be able to stick to uploading a new chapter every fortnight from now.
> 
> So about the chapter:  
> David is the Professor's son. You may have already know this if you have ever read/seen anything with David :p
> 
> David spent most of his youth on a small island in Scotland but was born somewhere else so he has a bit of an accent.  
> I however am very bad at writing accents so apart from a few occasional words you may not be able to tell that much :p  
> The only main difference is that David will say 'Mum' whereas Peter says 'Mom'.
> 
> Currently Peter knows that David is telepathic and telekinetic but his powers are a lot more complicated than that.  
> More information coming in later chapters :D


	9. Chapter 9

When they were young, Peter and Wanda were very good liars. They would lie to their mother and blame each other for accidents in the home or to protect the other when it was something serious. Their little sister got all the innocent stories of Santa, the tooth fairy and reassurances that her father did love her even though he had left that night after the argument she heard from her room. They lied to her when they didn't tell her he hadn't left that night but completely vanished.  
The easiest lies where to police and strangers. Excuses for the unexplainable and alibis would always come easy to the twins, split between them in finished sentences and talking over each other with overlapping tales. They weren't psychic (even though the stereotype of twins would suggest they were) but they didn't need to be. Before Wanda could finish whatever she was saying, Peter would know what she meant and what he would say next. Peter could tell any lie and Wanda could add detail and expand on it, even if it was completely obscure.  
Being as close as they were (as they used to be), they could never lie to each other. Peter would try sometimes, but with just single look, Wanda could always see right through him, just as he could with her. So when Wanda wasn't around to read him and see through his deceptions, he would lie to himself. For instance, on this particular Thursday when Peter told himself he wasn't disappointed to not find David waiting for him in Charles's office. But Charles wasn't there either so he decided to have a quick search of the mansion to see if they had just moved their session to another location.

After a lap around the inside of the mansion in only a few seconds, he found Charles in Cerebro. Or more accurately, he found Erik walking hurriedly out of Cerebro, with the doors closing behind him as Charles put his headpiece on. Peter slowed to down to walk with Erik, easily matching his pace.  
"Hey man, have you seen David? I thought he'd be in with the Professor but..."  
"Something happened in their session," Erik looked worried and Peter suddenly felt very uneasy "David has run off and he's blocking Charles's telepathy."  
"Can he even do that? Nevermind, I'll find him." Before he can take off running, there's a hand on his arm and a look of concern for him.  
"Be careful Peter. We don't know the full extant of David's powers and he......" Erik pauses and Peter is starting to get annoyed at how careful everyone is when they talk about David around him, "He's not himself"  
Charles and Erik were definitely hiding something, but Peter ignored that feeling and replaced it with easy arrogance.  
"Don't worry dude, I'm still faster than he could even dream." He replies and starts his run leaving Erik with probably not that much confidence in his (son) student.

David wasn't anywhere in the mansion. Peter rechecked the mansion, searching every classroom, common room, the kitchens and even in the other students bedrooms; leaving only a gust of wind and the sudden opening and closing of doors to signify his presence. A search of the lower levels came up fruitless as well but he did enjoy shocking Hank by stopping only a few inches away from him to ask if he'd seen David. He hadn't, so Peter took his search outside. As he ran through the basketball court and up the hill towards the wooded area, he saw Jean floating high up in the air and guessed she must also be part of the search party.  
David wasn't in the tree they had sat in last week or in any other tree around but from his vantage point he could see smoke coming from the hedge maze he and Ororo had been growing. They'd started planning it when had still been in crutches and then once he was free to run again, he had planted the seeds and regularly weeded it, whilst she had been responsible for the watering and keeping it sunny. Between their awesome hair and gardening projects, they had bonded and become great friends (especially in having shared experiences of stealing for necessity when they both had had to either abuse their gifts or starve). 

Sometimes the things people say do turn out to be right, and when Peter followed the smoke, he did find fire. And David. Because the fire was pouring out of David's hands. Which was certainly unexpected.  
"What are you doing?" Peter asked, even though it was quite clear that David was burning down the foot-high hedges that he and Ororo had worked so hard on growing.  
"David? David!" When he doesn't get a reaction, Peter does one of the things he's best at and starts pestering him. "David, what are you doing? David... David.... Daaaaaaavidd."  
David turns to face him but there's anger in his eyes and a frown that says he doesn't recognise Peter.  
"Go away! And stop calling me that. I'm not David."  
"Oookay," that's quite weird but Peter decides to just roll with it, "so who are you then?"  
David (not David?) looks at him suspiciously but the flames have stopped flowing from his hands so that's probably a good sign even if there are a few bushes still alight.  
"I'm Cyndi." David answers carefully.  
"Hi Cyndi, I'm Peter. Do you mind not burning everything? I grew that."  
David (Cyndi) looks at the bushes and then back at Peter "Oh, did you?"  
"Yeah, me and my friend are making this into a hedge maze. It's gonna be awesome when it's finished. Hey, have you been to the centre yet?" Cyndi's eyes perk up with a brightness of interest that Peter hasn't seen in David before. "No, what's in the centre?"  
Peter can't help his mischievous grin. "You'll have to come see for yourself."

As he leads him along the long secret path, Peter starts to notice the change in David since last week. He seems lighter in his step and seems more relaxed, looking around with curiosity rather than the nervousness he carried with himself with before. When they get to the centre of the maze it isn't that exciting, just a few benches and flowers but Peter tells about the fountain they may be putting there and David asks excited questions about how big it will be and how they've been growing the maze. Peter relaxes on a bench and patiently answers all of David's questions, which is very different to his usual quiet demeanour. 

"David, where have you been?" The mood is ruined by the arrival of Charles, closely followed by Erik floating behind him, helmet in place. David's face changes to anger and his hands relight in flame. Peter stands from his seat, a feeling of approaching danger itching in the back of his mind.  
"You! Why won't you leave me alone!" David shouts as the fire once again starts to drip from his hands, burning the grass around him.  
"David, please stop this. We're just trying to help you."  
"I'm not David. I hate David, and I hate you! He trapped me here and now you're trying to kill me!"  
"I'm sorry, Cyndi. No one wants to hurt you but you cannot behave like this anymore."  
"I don't believe you." David/Cyndi says with disgust and turns to run away only to be penned in by a sheet of metal being manipulated to block his exit.  
"I thinks that enough now, young man." Erik lands softly down next to Charles with his hand outstretched ready to fight if needed. Rage burns in David/Cyndi's eyes and the fire in his hands spreads up his arms and as he raises a hand, Peter starts to move. 

David is closer to the men but Peter doesn't have the distance to speed up as much as he needs. The fire David throws moves fast, but Peter is faster. He drags Charles out the way (careful not to tip him out of his chair) and feels the heat on his face. He gets to Erik and the fire hits him as he knocks his father out the way. They both hit the floor and Peter strips off his now-flaming jacket. Charles recovers quicker than them and has his fingers on his temple.  
"Sleep, David." Peter barely has time to catch David before he drops to the floor. He cradles his head carefully as Charles rolls over to them and looks down sadly at his son.  
"What the hell that?" This one time, Peter would've preferred talking rather than action.  
"I'm sorry you had to see that, Peter." He turns to Erik, "let's get him back to the mansion."  
Peter moves his arm as the metal sheet moves under David, and then the peaceful man is taken from him. As they start walking back to the mansion, Peter follows them, reluctant to leave David (Cyndi?) with the people he was so angry at. They had been fine when it was just the two of them so Peter wondered what the older men had done to incite such rage from his unusual friend. Erik matches his casual pace and places an hand on his shoulder. Peter does his best not to lean into the touch but revels in the small amount of physical contact that he has never felt from his father before.  
They take David back to Charles's office and settles David on the couch while Erik leads Peter out of the room with a hand on his back "to give them some privacy." Peter looks back at the closing door and doesn't ask any of the questions burning in his head, but Erik must sense his worried confusion.  
"Come along, Peter. I think you deserve the truth."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Peter has now met "Cyndi".  
> Cyndi is pyrokinetic and I really wish I could spell her name 'Cindy' but it's spelt with the Y in the comics and I'm a sucker for detail :p
> 
> I'm hoping it's clear what's going on with David in this chapter but if not, Erik is going to explain things to Peter in the next chapter (which will probably be shorter but up more quickly than this chapter) :)


	10. Omelettes and impatience

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wow, we've made it to the 10th chapter! Hope you're all enjoying reading this as much as I'm enjoying writing it :)

Peter is trying very hard not to fidget in his seat. The cutlery he had been tapping out a beat with, had quickly been removed from his hands and remain floating above him just out of reach while Erik busies himself over a frying pan. Peter thinks he might start calling him the Master of Omelettes but he's too distracted by him impatience to focus on how hilarious he thinks he is. 

Peter did think that when Erik said he tell him the truth, they'd get straight into it, but the older man had decided it was a better to have the conversation on a full stomach and Peter's relentless appetitive didn't let him disagree. So he waits. And fidgets. And starts swinging his legs and kicking the chair across from him until an omelette is place in front of him the other chair is slid out for Erik to slide into with his much smaller plate of food. They eat quietly (Peter finishing much quicker, as to be expected) and then he continues to wait. 

As Erik finishes his meal and takes a slow sip of his coffee, Peter can't handle the waiting any longer.  
"Okay so what's the deal, man?"  
"It might not be my place to tell you this." Erik says thoughtfully.  
"No. Tell me what's going on! What's with all the secrets? Why was David calling himself Cyndi? Sincewhencanhemakefireandwhydidntherecogniseme?"  
"Okay Peter, sit down. Slow down." Peter didn't even notice the burst of energy that got him out of his seat but does as he's told.  
"David has... David is....... Hmmm." He tails off with a look of deep thought on his face.  
"Can you just tell me?" Peters impatience has taken over completely now.  
"I don't really know how to explain it. David is.... Not always David. When he loses control, another version of himself takes over." Peter mulls it over in his head before Erik adds "It's called Multiple Personality Disorder."

Peter doesn't really fully understand but he puts a few of the easier pieces together. "So, like Cyndi?"  
"Yes, Cyndi is one of David's personalities. There is another called Jack. Charles believes there are more but he hasn't been able to contact the others yet. Each of the personalities manifest a different one of David's abilities but so far the range of his powers is..... unmeasurable. It's outstanding, the power he could be capable of if he had the control."  
Peter feels the tiniest swell of jealously deep in his stomach. He wonders what Erik would think if he ever met Wanda. Would he like her more than him? He's the fastest man on the planet but she.... She can change the world. Peter quashes those feelings and ignores any possible futures in favour of the present.

"So Cyndi makes fire?"  
"Yes, it appears that when David manifests Cyndi, it also manifests his pyrokinesis."  
"And David's telepathic." Erik raises an eyebrow that could either be surprised, impressed or possibly a little bit of both. "I hadn't realised he told you."  
"Yeah, he overheard me thinking about..... someone. So what does Jack do? It is Jack right, the other one?"  
"You need to stay away from Jack." Erik says with a stern frown. Peter is ready to roll his eyes again (all these warnings of danger are really starting to get irritating) before Erik continues quickly, getting Peter's attention with a hand on his arm, leaning in closer. "Peter, look at me. If David starts calling himself Jack, you need to leave immediately."  
Erik's intense look has Peter like a rabbit staring into blue eyed headlights. He got his own dark eyes from his mother but he's definitely seen the shape of Erik's eyes and brow in the mirror before, only with less lines left behind from grief and rage. Less history.

But it's the intensity of Erik's words is what has Peter frozen in anticipation, leaning in eagerly to here what this awesome, dangerous power could be.  
"So, what can he do?" He's practically on the edge of seat.  
"Jack is the personality that controls David's telekinesis."  
All the tense excitement leaves Peter with the anticlimactic reveal and he slumps back in his chair.  
"What, seriously? That's it? Jean has that, and you can move metal things too. By this school's standards, that's pretty lame." He says with boredom.  
"I don't think you're taking this seriously, Peter."  
"Of course I'm not. After all these warning and mystery, you're telling me he's got a few different powers, which is really cool, but it's no match for me. I'm the fastest man alive. I'm not scared of him." Distracted in his speech, Peter doesn't notice the metal legs of his chair bending to wrap around his ankles.  
As the metal tightens and he is then lifted slightly from the floor, his focus snaps back to Erik as he grips his hands on the table to try and steady himself.  
"He could stop you from running, Peter." Their eyes meet in a battle of wills. Peter has shared this same stare with his mom before, but Erik seem to have a different approach to life lessons and with a small hand gesture Peter is lifted higher into the air before being flipped upside down. 

"Are you scared now?" Erik asks in his stern 'Magneto voice' and Peter holds onto the chair to hide his trembling hands. He's fine with heights, and being upside down is no problem for someone who can run up walls but the sensation of being trapped has always brought a sick feeling to Peter's stomach and made his heart race. Ready to run. But it's the stubborn streak that he's sure he's inherited from the older man is what's quashes down the urgency to run and hold Erik's gaze.  
"No. I'm not scared." He says, summoning all his courage to try and stop his voice from shaking. "David is my friend. He wouldn't do anything to hurt me. Just like you won't."  
"What's makes you think that?"  
"Because I trust you." Peter answers honestly. Erik looks at him carefully before giving a sigh and lowering Peter back to the floor. Upon he release from the chair, Peter gets to his feet and puts distance between himself and the metal trap which remoulds itself back to its original shape.  
"Thank you, Peter, but I think you're much too trusting." Erik says with a shake of his head, "not everyone has the best intentions at heart."  
"Well I think you're too suspicious." Peter replies, playfully.  
"Do you think so?" Erik asks with a disbelieving tone.  
"Of course. You worry way too much, man." Peter says with a mischievous grin, pulling his goggles into place. "That's why you have so many wrinkles." He finishes, before sprinting away from the room and his father's outraged retaliation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So onto some notes on this chapter:
> 
> "It's called Multiple Personality Disorder." - I hope I've explained it in an understandable way, it's a disorder wherein a person has two or more distinctive split identities or personality states that continually have control over a persons behaviour. This is one of the things David has even though it's often referred to as schizophrenia in the comics. I've tried to write about it here more from Erik's understanding of it, which he has learnt from Charles, so I hope it still made sense.  
> It is now called Disassociative Identity Disorder but its still the 80s in the fic, so I'll be calling it MPD.
> 
> "If David starts calling himself Jack" - Erik does (mostly) understand that 'David' isn't really in control when another personality is, but its still David's body. David is the most dominant/first personality so he and Charles will often still call him David.
> 
> Cyndi & Jack are not the only personalities that will appear in this fic but they are the two that Charles has made contact with the most often.
> 
> There is still more to David's powers that I want to talk about but they are things Erik doesn't know so we'll get to that later :)
> 
> Thankyou for all the comments and kudos, it keeps me motivated :D


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry guys, it's been forever since I updated

It's dark outside when Peter wakes up. Its probably a good thing he woke up, as he still has his shoes on from when he collapsed on his bed and passed out after a long run to burn off all the excess energy so he could get to sleep. He stretched out, catlike, before kicking his shoes off his feet to land in a mess on the floor. Shuffling into a new position, Peter wondered what had woken him up before he receives an unexpected answer in the form of a soft knock in his door.  
Peter is at the door and opening it, before his mind can catch up to wonder who it could be be, this late at night. A quick glance at his watch tells him it's a little while after midnight and when he looks up his mouth goes dry. The handsome, tall haired, David Haller is standing in his doorway, shirtless and shoeless. He's wearing only pyjama trousers and Peter would probably think he was dreaming, if his train of thought hadn't just coming to a shuddering holt. Luckily, his guest speaks first.  
"Hi" David pauses and his eyes drop to the floor, "um, how are you?"  
"I'm good. How are you?" Peter answers brightly.  
"I'm... okay." He smiles a little, but seems uncertain. Peter isn't sure what to say next. His eyes drift back to David's pyjamas (a mush safer place to look than the naked skin above them).  
"Are you staying here tonight then?" After not having seen him for the rest of the the day, Peter had assumed that he had gone home.  
"Yeah, after... after what happened today my Mum and Charles thought it would be better for me if I stayed here for the night."  
"That's cool. Do you wanna come in?" Peter asks, opening the door wider. David took a step back, looking a little startled. "No..no that's okay. I... I need to go to bed... I just wanted to apologise. For your jacket."  
"Don't worry about it." Peter shrugged. "I can always get another one." He smiled at him, even though David was still not meeting his eyes.  
"Okay... Good. So did Erik...." He paused and looked back up at Peter. "He told you about me?"  
"Uh, yeah. He did. Was that okay?"  
"Yeah... Yes. You should know. I just....." He took another small step back. "I understand if you don't want to hang out anymore."  
"No, I do!" He thought maybe he said that too loudly by the way David flinched but realised it was probably more because of the way he'd put his hand on his arm to stop him from going. Too suddenly. "Sorry." Peter dropped his hand to his side. "I just mean, I think you're cool. And Cyndi seems.... Nice? I guess."  
David let out a small laugh and seemed to relax. "She really isn't very nice."  
"Well she was nice to me." He says with a smile. "So, do you.... Do you remember anything when she's in control?"  
David shakes his head, eyes back on the floor. "No. Charles told me what happened. I kinda go somewhere else in my mind when it happens. When they take over I can't do anything. I can't stop them from doing bad things." He voice is shaking and Peter recognises that tone of voice before. He doesn't know the right words but he knows he doesn't want David to feel like this. He reaches out, slower this time, and gently brushes his hand against David's. He counts it as a win when David lets him hold his arm without recoiling away again.  
"It's okay. That's why you're here isn't it? Charles is gonna help you. I want to help too. Or I'll try at least."  
David hand slides it his and fixes his eyes onto their joined hands. "I'm sorry she.... We hurt you."  
"You didn't. I'm fine." Peter replies brightly and squeezes his hand. "I'm too fast anyway."  
"Thank you, Peter." He pauses and Peter quietly enjoys the contact between them, before David pulls his hand free. "I should probably go to bed. Goodnight."  
Peter can't help the dumb smile on his face. "Night."  
As David starts to leave down the corridor and Peter steps out to ask before he leaves "Hey, do you wanna meet me for breakfast in the morning?"  
"Yeah, sure." David says turning back to smile at him.  
"Cool, see you tomorrow." Peter waves before he can stop himself for being so uncool but feels something flutter in his stomach when David waves back.

 

FRIDAY

 

When Peter wakes up (again), it's Friday. He knows it's Friday because he isn't woken up by Jubilee or Kurt because he's going to be late for a dangerroom session, or with the Professor's voice in his head because he had agreed to help with out with one of the outdoor physical education lessons and the class has already started. Friday is a day where he doesn't have to hear about the irony of a speedster being late to everything (which he already knows).  
He stretches and spends a few moment enjoy the comfort of his bed before his feet wake up and the urgency to move returns to him. He gets up, showers, shaves and brushes his teeth wastes a few minutes messing his hair into different styles (even though he knows it will resume its messy style as soon as he runs). He dresses and grabs his goggles and headphones as he does everyday. His watch tells his it's nearly 11am when he secures it onto his wrist. With his shoes on he's nearly out the door when his hand doesn't find his jacket on the chair.  
He usually leaves his jacket on the chair. It's not on the floor or the bed. He's stares blankly until he remembers he doesn't have his jacket because it had gotten burnt. By David...  
He swears as he sprints down the hall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this chapter sooo long ago but forgot to upload it.  
> Next chapter won't take as long as this one.

**Author's Note:**

> Please let me know what you think :)


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